On January 8th, 2022- online sports gambling became legal in New York State. Yes, sports lovers in New York looking to make a quick buck are finally able to test their luck. Their competition (aka “Vegas”) included FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook and BetRivers which were the available online sportsbooks at the time.
Basically as soon as everything went live for sports gambling in NYC, the state economy exploded.
Only a month after legalization, Governor Kathy Hochul “announced the successful launch of mobile sports wagering in New York State, with nearly $2 billion in wagers taken during the first 30 days of operation. This record-breaking success, more than any other state has ever reported, will generate more than $70 million in tax revenue for New York State, providing funds to be allocated toward programs that support education, youth sports, and more.” https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-nearly-2-billion-wagers-over-first-30-days-mobile-sports-wagering
As soon as sport gambling became legal, it almost felt like instantaneously commercials were being ran advertising new sign-up promotions for participants in New York. These promotions basically gave away free money to all new registrations in New York City and allowed for people to win. Winning can be the most dangerous aspect of sports gambling…
Now that sounds counter-intuitive- you should want to win your bets. Winning is what keeps on bringing you gamblers back because they want to chase that same feeling. This what leads to gambling addiction and it ruin lives. People that become addicted to gambling lose money and then chase the money that they lost believing they can just make more and then some. When they don’t win again- the vicious cycle repeats.
Here is a Ted Talk by former gambling addict Justyn Larcombe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AN3VLLlkdI&t=489s
Larcombe details his struggles with gambling addiction and why he fell down a dark path that tore apart everything/everyone he loved. It all started off with a free $5 bet and a small win. Larcombe also talked about how the modern gambling addiction is extremely dangerous now- anyone is able to place a bet on their phone whenever and wherever and no one will know. Other dangerous addictions have physical signs- you can smell alcohol or tell when someone is under the influence of something- not gambling.
Please be careful when it comes to any sort of gambling. Only risk what you are comfortable with and never chase your losses- it is never worth it.
IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOWS HAS A GAMBLING ADDICTION PLEASE CALL: 1-800-GAMBLER